16th November 2020
Good news for Malahide Portmarnock Educate Together Secondary School! We have recently met with the Department of Education and they are on target for construction to begin on our permanent build in early 2021. This would lead to a move into the initial Phase 1 in the first quarter of 2022.
Although we’re not in a position to take a full first year group for now, by 2022/23 we should be on the road to our permanent building and have a good opportunity of offering places to many more students.
This is great news as we are eager to be in our permanent build which will be a ‘STATE OF THE ART’ school. Our building will have classrooms built according to the newest specifications from the Department of Education for all Mainstream subjects, Music rooms, Home Economics, Art, Technology, Woodwork, Media rooms, a huge internal courtyard, general purpose space with canteen and lots of light coming from the two storey glass panelling. The school library is going to be stunning and we cannot wait to establish it in the wonderful two storey space allocated on the plans. The Sports Hall and exercise areas, including a fitness suite and courts, will be a great asset for all our sports enthusiasts among both the students and staff.
Our 1st round of offers for 2021/22 have just issued, we are excited to welcome our new students. We have been inundated with applications and are hopeful that in the next few years, we will be able to accommodate everyone.
Our first cohort of third year students are set to complete the Junior Cycle in 2021, we are immensely proud of them given that they have had to keep the momentum going with their study during the Lockdown and attend classes via our Microsoft Office Teams, working closely with their teachers to ensure that there was continuity on their work. As we are an iPad school, this has proved to be a bonus during this time and allowed for as much contact as possible to continue in spite of restrictions.
Whilst all of the general studies in Core and Optional subjects continues, we are also working on several projects with students. One is ‘The Artist in Residence’ programme creating a stained glass, Art installation for our permanent build. (See photos and video on our Website). Funding from Creative Engagement and Fingal County Council Arts Department.
Another is our engagement with Localise, a community volunteering organisation who work with students around the importance of ‘Giving Back’ to the community. We have begun our first project with second years and this work will continue into next year.
Due to restrictions, many of our after-school activities have had to been curtailed but, our creative staff and students are coming up with alternatives each day.
The dressing up day before Mid Term, allowed us to fund raise for Educate Together ‘One Day Together’, as well as enjoy a bit of fun together. Both staff and students entered into the spirit of it all with great enthusiasm.
Some students and staff are designing a more creative and productive use of our outdoor spaces to ensure that we get the best out of them. Plans for basketball, Australian Handball, outdoor Chess and other activities are afoot.
Our Student Council elections had many interested and eager candidates as we have a huge interest in Student Voice in the school.
This year, we are heading for our second Passport in the World Wise Global Schools programme, addressing Global Issues as part of our cross curricular activities in the school.
More information is here on our website and we will update regularly as we hear more news!